Sans reforms fascism may rebound, warns Ali Riaz

Staff reporter :

Stressing the need for reforms, Ali Riaz, head of the Constitution Reform Commission, on Thursday said that even a free and fair election may not be enough to safeguard democracy if fundamental reforms are not implemented.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion organised by SHUJAN in the capital, Riaz cautioned that without restructuring the administration and judiciary, the risk of authoritarianism returning remains high.

He stressed that simply changing governments through elections will not ensure long-term democratic stability unless deep-rooted institutional changes are made.

“To prevent the resurgence of dictatorship in the future, structural changes must be made. If we aim to build an accountable state, implementing the reform agenda is essential,” Riaz stated.

As vice-chairman of the National Consensus Commission, he further argued that Bangladesh’s institutional fragility has deepened over the past 15 years, exacerbating the need for urgent reforms.

“The issue of state reform arises because, over the past 15 years,
fragile institutions in Bangladesh have been further weakened.

In the past 54 years since independence, no initiative has been taken to build strong institutions. We have seen how the judiciary has been destroyed over the last 15 years,” he added.

Riaz emphasised that reform is not merely a government-led initiative but a necessity recognized by both political parties and citizens.

He urged citizens to play a role in building national consensus and pushing for a ‘Citizens’ Charter’ to outline necessary changes for a stronger democratic framework.

At the same event, Badiul Alam Majumdar, head of the Electoral Reform Commission and a member of the National Consensus Commission, stated that deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had established an authoritarian system over a span of 15 years by undermining the electoral and institutional framework.
“She took 15 years to consolidate this system.

Now that she has fled the country, we have a rare opportunity to rebuild our state institutions.

The National Consensus Commission is working towards this goal by creating a ‘Citizens’ Charter,” Majumdar said.

Justice Md. Emdadul Hoque, another member of the National Consensus Commission, addressed longstanding concerns about the judiciary and stressed the importance of implementing the recommendations of the Judicial Reform Commission.

“In the past, there were various questions and debates regarding the judiciary. The Judicial Reform Commission has detailed these issues in its report and made necessary recommendations.

I believe that reform is an ongoing process. But now the time has come for the implementation of the reform agenda,” Hoque stated.

Echoing similar sentiments, Monir Haider, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser, noted that while reforms were once considered taboo, they have now become a widely accepted necessity.

“Before starting reforms, we need a clear vision of what kind of state we want to build.

Unfortunately, in Bangladesh, there has never been a well-thought-out initiative regarding state vision and reform.

After independence, only a few steps were taken to introduce the constitution, but soon after, numerous amendments were made-most serving individual interests rather than national progress,” he said.

Reflecting on Bangladesh’s political landscape, Haider asserted that reform is an inevitable reality, shaped by the experiences of the past 16 years.

Political analyst Dr. Dilara Chowdhury also underscored the role of political parties in ensuring a stable democracy, despite their internal challenges.

“Despite many problems within our political parties, the state must be governed through political parties. Therefore, it is essential to reform the political parties and continue democratic practices within them. Reform is an ongoing process, and it is imperative to implement logical reforms and hold elections as soon as possible,” she said.

The roundtable discussion reinforced the urgency of institutional reforms and underscored the necessity of a national consensus to prevent future authoritarian rule and build a more accountable state.